Do I need a Power of Attorney?
Things can change at any time of your life. You might run into circumstances that make it impossible for you to look after your own affairs. If you find you can no longer look after your own affairs, an application will need to be made to the courts. The courts will then appoint someone to look after your affairs for you. Doing that is expensive and time consuming. If a situation like this occurs, it’s much better to have someone you trust look after your affairs rather than someone appointed by the courts. This is when a Power of Attorney is invaluable.
It acts a bit like an insurance policy. It only comes into effect when you want it to and it allows someone else to make decisions and take action if you cannot do this yourself.
What kinds of Power of Attorney are there?
There are four types:
- A simple Power of Attorney
- A continuing Power of Attorney
- A Welfare Power of Attorney
- A Continuing and Welfare Power of Attorney
We can prepare and put any of these in place for you.
Granting a Power of Attorney
It doesn’t stop you from doing things yourself. If you are capable, you can still do anything you want to do at the same time allowing your attorney to do things for you. However, many clients wish it only to come into play when they are no longer able to look after their own affairs. We can deal with either of these situations for you.
You should appoint someone you absolutely trust. This can be a family member or family members. Some people have appointed solicitors in our firm as an attorney. You can do that if you wish. One advantage of appointing your solicitor is that we have a wealth of knowledge and experience in dealing with these matters. We also have all of the office backup in place to deal with any administration issues.
Granting a Power of Attorney isn’t final. If you wish to cancel it at any time in the future you can do that provided you are legally capable of doing so.
Call us now if you wish us to help you create a Power of Attorney. We’ll discuss your requirements and thereafter put in place the type that best suits your needs.
You can contact our Macduff office on 01261 832 491 or Banff office on 01261 812 681.
